Discuss The Game

Did you ever think the performance would be this underwhelming? Seriously? It was Hawaii after all. The defense did fine, as expected. But what was the deal with the offense? This is Lane Kiffin’s area of expertise. Maybe that explains everything.
Post your thoughts here.

30 thoughts on “Discuss The Game

  1. This game is not over but I can’t stand to watch anymore. Pathetic performance by the offense. We have no QB. Satisfactory play by the D (but let’s be real, it’s against a cheap Hawaii team). Disgusting, really. If things don’t change quickly, it’s going to be a looongg season. Where are those rah rah sunshine pumpeTFail and Bloe Joe now?

  2. 1. Offensive line needs to jell. They didn’t show much punch up the middle. Got beat a few times on the outsides.
    2. Kessler labored out there. No control on his throws and very slow on his decisions. Wittek also didn’t show any faster decisions.
    3. Defense played well especially the front 7. Lots of problems in the def. backfield. Torin Harris hasn’t gotten any better. Su’a Cravens is terrific as was Bailey.
    4. Kiffin’s play calling was conservative and allowed the running game get the kinks out. If the throws to Lee and Alighor were caught the score would have been a blowout.
    5. Continuity will be the key. Building upon a very slow start against a poor team. Most of the games will hindge on improvement of the O-line and the patchwork def. backfield.

  3. You’re hatred for Lane is too much. The defense was better than expected, not as expected. The running game was better than expected, and the passing game obviously wasn’t great but we have 2 inexperienced qbs. They’ll get better or one will take the job and we’ll be better.

    Your earlier comment about where would we be if not for 3 interceptions was silly. We HAD 3 interceptions and ultimately 4, we earned them that’s part of football.

    Your blog is overall cool, no one else posts stuff continuously and I heard that Kessler was starting here first. But do you have to always hate on Lane every step along the way Scott?

    • Are you kidding? This was Hawaii. Hawaii! We were fortunate Hawaii’s quarterback was so incompetent, especially with that wounded duck he threw to Bailey late in the 3rd quarter and that Chow didn’t punt at the end of the first half or we lose this game. We all want SC to return to glory and it is obvious that it isn’t going to happen with this head coach.

      • But that scenario goes both ways obviously – Agholor and Lee both had 2-3 uncharacteristic drops each. Two of those were probably TDs. You probably won’t see that many drops between those two in a single game the rest of the year. In that sense, Hawaii got lucky too. But hey, relax, and have a homebrew.

    • I second the thought re: too much negativity on Kiffin. I’ve been visiting other blogs due to what seems like a constant stream of whining about Kiffin here.

      I’m even starting to admire Kiffin for not managing the team to please the press. I hope he has a great season and stays at USC a long time.

  4. The defense was dominant and I loved how fast they played. What a contrast to last year.

    Running game was impressive considering the top two RB are hurt. Madden looks like an effective big back.

    What was up with Marqise? Worst game I’ve seen him play as a Trojan.

    • The defense was dominant? What game were you watching? I saw Hawaii’s quarterback blow it again and again, missing open receivers and throwing into double and triple coverage and throwing 4 bad intereceptions.

  5. Can we please run the ball in the first half and score in the third quarter?

    Pick a QB as soon as possible. He needs the increased reps. Defense was good. Patchy offense. Sucks losing corners to injuries.

    But we were also pretty poor the first few games two seasons back. We ended up 10-2. This O-line needs to get better.

    • This team will go 2-10 before it even sniffs 10-2 LOL. Kalil and Perry ( Pete recruits ), and bad choke jobbing opponents made that fluke season happen. There are no Kalil’s or Perry’s anymore just a bunch of dumb looking Kiffin recruits.

  6. 1. Offensive line was much worse than I expected.
    2. Lack of depth was painfully obvious, especially in defensive backfield. Once the two starters went down, Hawaii started to move the ball through the air.
    3. Neither quarterback stood out. Both had problems. Both looked their receivers down. We were lucky we only had one interception against us and only had passes knocked down. Their problems were exacerbated by a porous offensive line.
    4. Marquis Lee was terrible. His lack of practice really showed.
    5. Kicking game looks good. Heidari looks like he is back to 100% after his injury-plagued season last year.
    6. Running game was much better in the 2nd half, which helped Wittek. Javorius Allen was a pleasant surprise.
    7. Having watched most of the Utah vs Utah St game, both of whom USC plays this year, it may be a very, very long season.
    8. I don’t think that Kiffin can be faulted for the way he called the game. Like last year, I think the talent in certain positions is lacking and the lack of depth is very obvious.

  7. Kiffin should fire whichever coach that’s responsible for third quarter scoring. This is a very poor trend.

    • Dumb Goat couldn’t score a TD with the great 2005 talent in the 3rd quarter. This guy is so incompetent he makes Steve Suckisian look … well , like a just a bad coach.

  8. This is a 6 loss or more team … that mindless blitzing D is going to get burned by just an average qb … totally destroyed by a good one ( Wazzu’s ). Only thing that could save the season if Haden fires Kiffin tomorrow. He is going to do it anyway … do it now !

    • RE: that mindless blitzing D is going to get burned by just an average qb
      I think you are spot on

  9. Kiffin started this rumor that he knew offense, only morons fell for it …but he keeps proving he is a bad as we all know he is.

  10. The defense was nails. Sometimes it was helped by poor QBing, but most of the time the poor QBing was due to the fact that the D was knocking the crap out of the QB and receivers. They will give up the big play here and there. Does any one wan the soft Tampa 2 to come back?

    The offense was dogcrap. Hard to tell if it is a lack of talent (could be, Kevin Graf is a three year starter but he would be relegated to the Scout team on Stanford, Oregon, ASU, ND, Oregon State . . .) or poor coaching and game planning. O Line had the same look that the Defense had during the Monte era: slow to react, confused, thinking too much, unsure of what to do and who to block. They didn’t look bad on sweeps, where they could use there athleticism to their advantage, they looked terrible on pass protection and runs between the tackles. It didn’t help that Hawaii guessed right 99% of the time, because Kiffie shows his hand by the personnel and formation.

    All roads lead to the head, coach, Lame Kitten. Deadspin said it best: “And yet, in Lane Kiffin, they have found the perfect amalgam of arrogant lowlife: deluded, snooty, overprivileged, completely unqualified, transparently insincere, and destined for a bombastic personal downfall.
    If it came out that Lane Kiffin had an ex-girlfriend bound and thrown into the sea, would you doubt it for a second? Of course not . . .”

  11. As many excuses as we say about talent and etc…. Teams like Utah St, Boise St, Fresno St as well as other “lower tier” type teams play much better, less mistakes, prepared well and have a playbook larger than a High School JV team. I was always big on backing Kiff. Not anymore. I his 4th season we’ve progressively look more unorganized and confused. he needs to go.

    • Its painful to watch someone to just blow one great opportunity after another, and continue to get additional chances. I don’t think we will make the spread with WSU and a lost to Utah St. should get us an interim HC.

  12. Wolfie, you know you were cheering when you covered on that Hail Mary pass with 30 seconds.

  13. I was at the game and the only thing good was our offense and the catch in the end zone about 5 yards directly in front of me which put me on TV. Where is our offensive line I saw both sets of players and our offensive line looked like they had no heart. Once the offensive line knocked out the rt defensive end from game we were finally able to run on rt side.

    BC

  14. Odds posted today for Saturday’s games have Oregon State, who lost to Eastern Washington, favored by 27 over Hawaii. What does that say about USC’s performance?

  15. Offense lacks Identity.. they need to bulk up the OLine and run the ball .. USC style smash mouth USC Football

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